Pleas Entered In Heroin And Marijuana Case

A Bedford County man was remanded to Camp Hill Department of Corrections last week after entering guilty pleas to one count each of delivery and possession of a controlled substance.

Artemas resident Michael Becker was arrested in late February when he was found in possession of multiple bags of heroin as well as marijuana following a controlled buy by a Pennsylvania State Police confidential informant in northern Fulton County.

An affidavit of probable cause filed by state police vice officers maintained an informant agreed to purchase heroin from Becker, who would “make a run to York to pick up a brick of heroin.”

The informant and Becker, of 275 Weight Road, met at a parking area along Taylor Road during the mid-morning hours on February 26. The informant reportedly gave $300 in marked bills to Becker, who said he would return in about four hours.

Following a telephone call to announce his pending arrival, Becker, 33, returned to the parking lot in Dublin Township at 7:55 p.m. He allegedly retrieved two bundles containing 20 bags of heroin from a toolbox in the rear of a 1999 Mercury Mountaineer, police said in the charging documents.

With the informant having observed additional suspected drugs in the toolbox, state police officers from the McConnellsburg barracks pulled over the vehicle and placed Becker under arrest. Using a search warrant, state police reportedly located 16 additional bags of heroin inside the vehicle as well as a one-quarter pound of suspected marijuana.

In Becker’s most recent court appearance last Tuesday, October 11, before Fulton County Court of Common Pleas Judge Shawn Meyers, Fulton County District Attorney Travis Kendall agreed to recommend Becker for participation in the state intermediate punishment (SIP) program. Kendall added he was unable to guarantee his eligibility or admission, which will be decided by Camp Hill Department of Corrections.

Defense attorney Annie Gomez gave the court a brief run down of Becker’s criminal history, which was primarily drug and alcohol related. The district attorney added the commonwealth believed Becker’s selling of heroin was to support his own drug use.

Maximum penalty for the combined charges could be 16 years in prison and/or $250,000 in fines. Restitution will be paid on all charges, including those that have been dismissed.